The Writing Project

Made possible by a grant from the Teaching Resources Center, the TRC Writing Project seeks to improve student writing, and supplement writing instruction, in any U.C. Davis classes that offer a writing component. Comprised primarily of links to writing handouts created and maintained by writing centers and labs at American colleges and universities, this project organizes and presents writing help in those areas where students most need it: the processes of beginning, writing, and revising essays; the definitions and uses of concepts and terms commonly addressed in writing classes; and the particular challenges of students who approach English as a second language. This project may also introduce students to new approaches in independent and distributed learning, as well as to many previously unknown and helpful resources at other universities. Students should not, however, hope that familiarity with the resources found here would ever be fruitfully substituted for time spent practicing reading and writing with expert writers, whether they be leaders of large classes who take time to cover the basics of writing clear and thoughtful prose, specialists at the Learning Skills Center who have years of experience talking students through their responses to challenging writing assignments, or, most appropriately, the faculty and teaching assistants who teach Composition classes offered by the University Writing Program. For more information about writing at UC Davis, please also visit the web sites of the University Writing Program the Campus Writing Center’s Writing in the Disciplines Program.

For more on distributed learning, see the California State University Center for Distributed Learning, and “Distributed Learning and Institutional Restructuring,” an essay by Brian L. Hawkins, President of Educause.

As you can tell from the Writing Project Grid, each of the covered writing topics is represented by a variety of handouts and then followed up by writing advice found in composition textbooks or the thoughts of famous writers. Each category heading contains all the relevant links for that subject, including the “best link” which most thoroughly presents the topic; the “nutshell” link which offers a much shorter chart, checklist, or skeletal version of the topic; other recommended links; and some pithy advice on the subject from a Composition specialist or established author.

Like almost everything on the web, this project is a work in progress. I appreciate the helpful feedback of writers who have worked with and benefited from the TRC Writing Project.

Andy would like to thank the following teachers and writers without whose advice on writing, writing instruction, and technology this project would not be possible. Unless otherwise noted, each teaches at the University of California, Davis.

Linda Bates, University Writing Program, Retired

Mary Bly, University Writing Program

Amy Clarke, University Writing Program

Marlene Clarke, University Writing Program

Maureen Coulson, ATS-Mediaworks

Mardena Creek, University Writing Program (now retired)

Victoria Cross, The Department of Psychology, and formerly The Teaching Resources Center

Rick Falk, Former Professor of Plant Pathology at U.C. Davis

Erin Farmer, Solano Community College

Anne Fleischmann, Sierra College

Gary Sue Goodman, University Writing Program

Davey Marlin-Jones, University of Nevada, Las Vegas (deceased)

Ellen Lange, Lecturer in Linguistics (now retired)

Joseph Mills, North Carolina School for the Arts

Jack Petrash, Teacher and Author

Christopher Ricks, Boston University

Kevin Roddy, Medieval Studies (now retired)

Kirsten Saxton, Mills College

Eric Schroeder, University Writing Program

Barbara Sommer, The Department of Psychology (now retired)

John Stenzel, University Writing Program

Mary Stewart, Department of Educaton

Harry Thomas, Boston University

Jeff van de Pol, IET Publications

Jan Van Stavern, Dominican College

John Vohs, Communications, Retired

Former English Department Chair Linda Morris and former Vice-Provost for Undergraduate Studies Patricia Turner also supported the creation of an earlier web-writing experiment, The Hamlet Project.